Bedding



July 28, 1959 LUCY-JIM a. swic EGooD ETAL 2,396,225

BEDDING Filed Oct. 30, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 4 INVENTOR! HAMILTON FRANK swnczeooo LUCY-JlM o Is s cseooo ATTORNEY y 1959 LUCY-JIM D. swjpssoon ETAL 2,896,226

- BEDDING Fned'oct. so, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS HAMILTON FRANK SWICEGOOD LUCY-JlM DAVIS WICEGOOD BY Z ATTORNEY BEDDING.

Lucy-Jim Davis Swicegood and Hamilton FrankSwicegood, Danville, 'Va.

Application October 30,1?56, Serial No. 619,190

5 Claims. (Cl. 5-320) This invention relates to beds and bedding, and more particularly to a means to'secure beddin'g'to'a mattress,

and also to the mattress and the bedding with which such means are used.

It has been the customof'longstanding to make abed by tucking the ends and sides ofa bottom-sheet about the ends andsides' of' the mattress, and to tuck. the bottom end and the sides of the remainder of thedered one and to use the replaced sheet as the bottom sheet which is placed in the laundry. It is further'the usual custom to reverse the sheets end to end to distribute wear;

It has been found in order that the bedding will not pull out from the bottom and that the bottom sheet Will not pull out from the top, that it has been necessary to increase the standard length of sheets from the old standard length of 99 inches to 108 inches. Yet, even with this additional length the difficulty in a great measure remains and has led to the proposal of so-cal-led contour or fitted sheets that have preformed pockets to fit over the end of a mattress. Since, however, the thicknesses of mattresses differ widely, the sheet must be selected to fit the specific mattress and will not be satisfactory for use on a different bed in the same house if the mattress is of a different make. The length of mattresses, however, is standard.

There have also been proposed many forms ofclips and clamps mounted on a bedstead to grip and hold bedclothes. These proposed devices have not, however, been accepted by the public as they are, for the most part, make-shift devices to be added to present standard equipment.

The device of the present invention, on the other hand,

proposes to overcome the above difficulties by the com-.

bination of bedding and mattress, or mattress fittings that are designed to work together, to accomplish the results which have been striven for over a long period of time.

It is an object of the present invention, therefore, to provide mattress and bedding so constructed that the bedding may be secured to the mattress so the bedding will not pull out from the mattress. v

A further object of the invention is to provide asimple and inexpensive securing means between bedding and mattress.

A still further object is to provide means whereby the size and weight of articles of bedding may be substantially reduced whereby not only is there a saving of material but also there is a continuing saving in laundry expense.

Another object of the invention isto provide a novel combination of mattress and bedding such that, since it cannot be pulled apart, will be easy to make after use.

Other and further objects and advantages will become United States Patent J ice apparent from the following specification, taken, with the accompanying: drawing in which likecharactersof refer ence refer to similar-parts,in-'theiseveral vievvs andgin,

which Fig. 1 is a general perspective view -a bedhayini'g;

a mattress fitted with a device of the invention,

Fig. 2 is a longitudinalsection.of. a. mattress and bedding in accordance with the, present invention.

Fig. 3 is an elevation ofa rod used to ,secureflbedding mattress end covers .11, Oh; theends. 1210f, the mattress end covers are aplurality. of parallelpockets, 1,3 extending :across the mattress; paral el. to the; top surface.

As seeninFig. 2,.tliepocketiacross-the ends'lz" may,

be provided directly. on the; mattress ticking in ,theprqcess of manufacture. I

Itv will be. noted that thesprovision of, -'th e, pockets, 13; will in no way interfere with'the use of'the bed with the present standardbedclothes so, it will be understood that ahous'ewife wishing to use the device, of the vpresent invention. is not forced to discard bedding alread [in use. but may use them until'they'become wornjou't, so that the housewife will not b P t to the sudden; expense of replacing all. ofthe bedding; at; one time butfrnay make the change-gradually.

It will be. further noted in. Fi 1, that bifurcated. was 14 bent double injthe-middleat 15,; each: have one leg extending through a pocket 13:.one above, the, other to Provide a p i y'ofl edding ec ri g. ods ex endia across the'ends'of themattres's. Pockets 1 3"may. be discontinuous, but must com'pris e v a portion close to the ends of rods 14; to effectively prevent motion ofthe rod in relation tothe mattressj The term pockets? hereafter used refers to'continuous or discontinuous pockets. v I

Fit;. 4 showsv a, bed. pad/11 su h. as i conrent p ally placed on, a mat ess. under the l w r shee At each end, however, of bed' pad 17 is a cloth folder, op 18 of approximately the'sanre'length as' thepocket This fold orloopl of cloth: islopen 'at each endfto form a tube through which the'up'permost bedding securing rods 14 pass. so. it. will h see th t he. ro oneextending ro gh poc et; .32 an the. other leextender; through a iw l qse ure the. end'ot theh d Pad securely a nst ovement. A an lilies s n in' iie- 3. holds the ends 0 5 red Itmget i rIsQ hat 'whje t ie clip is in place the ends of the'rod l t'cannothe spread by pulling on the bed pad, and the. foldlS cannot be pulled off of the rod.

Fig. 5 shows a sheet 20 according to the. invention. This sheet is to be used as either a top or a bottom sheet and either end up. Both' ends of the sheet are identical. It will be seen that at each end there isahem 21 having ho 2 ha ar p e erab mad ike bu onholes, and may nclude r in orc ng mater al su h a e n extra thickness of material." a f H s .2 a spac d at equa dista ces fromt ie' em of the" sheet and are spaced apart a distance equal to the length of rods 14 from bend 15 to clip 19.

, The lower sheet is secured to the second rod from the top of each end of the mattress as seen in Fig. 2. The edges of the sheet beyond the holes 22 are tucked under the mattress. The upper sheet is secured in a similar manner to the foot of the bed only, to the third rod from the top. Successive blankets, provided with hems or binding similar to the hems of the sheets, are secured at the foot of the bed to successive securing Patented July 28, 1959 rods. Fig. 5 illustrates a blanket as well as it does a sheet since the only difference lies in the material.

It will be noted, however, thatthe use of these blankets in no way interferes with the use of ordinary blankets.

The topvedge of the top sheet and blanketsmay be folded down, and the sides beyond the ends of the securing rods are tucked under the edge of the mattress" in the usual manner. '7

It will be noted that if the mattress end covers are used it is necessary only to provide two pocketes 13 for use at the head of the bed. i It is considered, however, that on mattresses it is desirable to have the same number of pockets at each end so that the mattress may be turned end for end. If'the mattress is also of a type that may be used either side up the pockets 13 should be so located that retaining rods are properly located to hold the bedding when the mattress is turned. 7

Special bedding such as electric" blankets may be provided to be used with one of the securing rods.

The number of of securing rods provided'is of course,

a matter of discretion. In tropical countries it is possible that only the sheets would be required in which a minimum of pockets and rods need be provided. While it is desirable to secure the bed pad by a rod at each end, it is not essential since the lower sheet is secured over it.

It will be at once realized that since the length of the sheets need be only slightly longer than the top of the mattress that a substantial saving of material is elfected. A standard sheet as at present in use measures 90 inches by 108 inches. The comparable sheet according to the invention measures 90 inches by 82 inches, saving more than 16 square feet of sheeting material per sheet. Similar savings are effected in blankets. The saving of yardage of sheeting would be 24% which, especially in hotels, would amount to a' considerable savings in first cost and would result also in considerable savings in laundry cost.

Fig. 3, Fig.6 and Fig. 7 show three different bed rods. The rod of Fig. 3 having been described above in connection with Figs. 1 and 2. It will be seen, however, that rod 14 may be round or flat in section.

Similarly, the rods of Figs. 6 and 7 may be round or flat. In Fig. 6 the two halves of the rod 14 'and 14' are hinged together at 15 and clip 19' secures the ends together. In Fig. 7 the rod is of three pieces two of which, '14 and 14", are hinged to the ends of rod 14 at 15" and 15". Clips 19" embracing the rods near fire hinges 15" and 15" holds the rod in clamping posi- The material of the rods is not essential to the inventron but may obviously be made of wood, metal or plastic or of a combination of these materials keeping in mind that it is desirable that they be light and of minimum size, yet they must be sufliciently' rigid to hold the bedclothes securely.

I It will therefore be understood that a simple and efi'icrent means has been provided that not only effects a great savingin bedding material, but also will operate to reduce the work of the housewife in making the beds in the morning. 1

It will be noted that various omissions, substitutions and changes may be made in the device as described above wlthout departlng from the spirit of the appended claims.

What we claim is:

1. In a'bed the combination of a mattress having ,a

the uppermost pocket at the head of the mattress, holes in the hems of said sheet at equal distances from the head, a foot, two sides and a top surface, at least two parallel pockets extending substantially across the head and the foot of said mattress below the upper surface thereof, a lower sheet for said mattress having a hem at each end, said sheet being of a length equal to the distance from the uppermost of said pockets at the foot of the mattress over the top surface of said mattress to center of the sheet and spaced apart a distance equal to the length of said pockets on said mattress, a bifurcated rod one leg of which extends through a pocket at the head of'the mattress and the other leg of which extends through the hem of one end of said sheet from one to the other said hole, a second bifurcated rod one leg of which extends through a corresponding pocket at the foot of the mattress and the other leg of which extends through the hem at the other end of said sheet, means to secure the free ends of said bifurcated rods together, an upper sheet identical to said lower sheet, and a third bifurcated.- rod, said third bifurcated rod having its legs one extending through one hem of said upper sheet and the other through a pocket across the foot of said mattress adjacent the said pocket engaged by said second bifurcated rod, and a clip to secure the ends of said third rod.

2. The combination of claim 1 in which said pockets at the head and foot of said mattress are mounted on removable mattress end covers.

3. The combination of claim 1 in which at least a third pocket is provided at the foot of said mattress below said two pockets and a blanket is provided with a hem at its foot, said hem having two holes spaced equal distances from the center of said blanket and a distance apart equal to the length of said pocket, and a fourth bifurcated rod engaging said hem and said pocket to secure said blanket at the foot of said mattress.

4. Fittings for the mattress of a bed comprising a fabric end cover of flexible material fitting snugly over the opposite ends only of the mattress, and a plurality of pockets extending across each cover so positioned as to extend across the width of the mattress below the top surface of said mattress.

5. A securing means to secure bedding to a mattress, saidsecuring means comprising a first rod of a length substantially equal to the width of said mattress, a. pair of rods each pivotally mounted on an end of said first rod to form legs which may be brought into parallelism with first rod, and two clips, one to engage each of said" pair of rods and said first rods adjacent the pivotal mountings to hold said pair of rods in parallelism with.

said first rod.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

